Some residents in Kleinskool, Port Elizabeth, are up in arms against people who are illegally occupying their RDP houses in Chatty while they continue to live in rundown shacks.

And another resident has been receiving bills for municipal services although her house has yet to be built.

Nohlelingaye Busika said she was surprised and shocked when she found people she knew from Kleinskool illegally occupying her house on Erf 7156.

"I was most unhappy because my subsidy was approved for the site in October 2003. When I spoke to them, they were unwilling to move out. I threatened to take action," she said.

Busika said she then reported the matter to Ward 32 councillor Phumelelo Mtati, who said he was aware of this problem.

Mtati said four houses were occupied illegally. He said the illegal occupants would have to be moved back to Kleinskool to await their own houses, or apply for a housing subsidy.

"We cannot afford to have people moving into houses without authorisation because they just see them empty."

Mtati said he did not understand why housing project managers and contractors did not inform ward councilors when a house was completed. He said some residents had informed housing board officials about the invasion of their houses, but nothing was being done.

Nelson Mandela metro media liaison officer Lourens Schoeman said he would send people to Chatty today to investigate.

Meanwhile, a Kleinskool mother of four has for the past three years been receiving municipal bills for service charges and rates for a vacant plot earmarked for her RDP house in Chatty.

The accounts have been coming since 2003 – even after Nogcinile Mbikeni, 49, reported the matter to the authorities.

A visit to her site, Erf 7166, revealed only rubbish and a municipal water meter.

A neighbour said it had been installed three weeks ago.

Schoeman promised to investigate this matter also.

• From Eastern Province Herald

Article by: Jimmy Matyu - (http://www.sundaytimes.co.za)